Fernando Alonso secured tenth place in the Austin qualifying session following a challenging Sprint race. The two-time world champion experienced a turbulent weekend in Texas, balancing strong performance with a touch of misfortune. Despite this, Alonso ended Saturday on a positive note by claiming P10 in qualifying after the disappointment of the Sprint.
Strong start to the weekend
Friday began well for Fernando Alonso, who showed impressive pace by finishing FP1 in fourth place with a 1:33.639, just three-tenths off Lando Norris’s fastest time. During the Shootout qualifying session, Alonso maintained his Aston Martin’s strong form, securing sixth with a 1:32.910.
Saturday struggles
However, Saturday didn’t go as planned. During the Sprint race, Alonso was forced to retire early, losing the chance to earn valuable points. Later, in the main qualifying session, he managed to recover and place the car in tenth, stopping the clock at 1:33.160. The lost track time from the Sprint left him slightly behind his rivals, but overall, Alonso appeared comfortable at COTA and is expected to deliver a strong performance in the race.
Alonso’s comments
“I think the car is excellent. We repaired it this morning, keeping the same specifications, and it performs well as expected,” Fernando Alonso stated after qualifying. “Yes, I’m satisfied with the car, and we made some progress through Q1, Q2, and Q3. It’s a pity that by just one-tenth we could have taken P7.”
“Probably that tenth was in the car, because on the last attempt we misjudged the timing leaving the pit lane. We thought we were in the red zone regarding timing and wouldn’t make it to the start line in time. But then I crossed the line with a margin of 15 or 18 seconds, so I pushed too hard on that lap thinking I was at the limit,” he explained.
“Yes, I probably got close, but we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
Looking ahead to the race
Missing the Sprint was a disadvantage for the two-time world champion, as it meant he didn’t collect the same data as his competitors. Nevertheless, he remains hopeful for points and aims to maintain this good form.
“Yes, missing the Sprint today was definitely a setback because it would have given me a good understanding at least for the first stint tomorrow. I’ll go a bit blind in the race compared to some of the people next to me. But we’ll see what we can do and whether we can score points,” Alonso concluded.
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